South City
Amestris, early 1800's
"Don't they look splendid?" Lust asked, her voice almost serene. "Like silly little ants, marching away to die."
"It's gonna be years before they carve the Crest of Blood. Imagine how much better it will get," Envy smirked maliciously, looking down at the host that was leaving South City. "Still think the new uniforms look stupid, though," they added with a dramatic huff.
"Can I go after them and eat the laggards?" Gluttony asked, his beady eyes blinking hungrily at the crowd gathered below the bell tower and the marching soldiers.
"No," Lust absent-mindedly reached a gloved hand and patted Gluttony's bald head. "We need them. I'll find you a snack later."
"Okay, Lust," Gluttony chirped happily.
Envy was paying little attention to their siblings. They were studying the sea of humans below. The disgusting creatures had turned the war into a spectacle.
All the Homunculi needed for the Crests of Blood that now littered the past of Amestris, lurking unseen under the surface of history, was death and suffering. The loss of life was simply a medium of power, a way to ease the flow of energy when the Promised Day came and Father harvested this country.
It was the humans who made bloodshed into a theatrical farce. The gilded epaulettes and pompous hats of the commanders, the pristine brass-button uniforms of the soldiers, the proud stallions that the alchemists rode, the cheering crowd and the rain of flower petals that showered the path of the host... It beggared belief that humans would glorify something that was going to bring nothing but misery and pain, and yet here it was. The same idiots who cheered and laughed now were probably going to bawl bitter tears before the first day of winter.
Truly, if humans were even half as smart as they thought they were, the Homunculi's job would have been a lot more difficult. They deserved everything that they were getting. Envy smiled, knowing that in the following decades it was going to get worse – so much worse – for the filthy cockroaches.
Envy's gaze wandered to the sun-kissed fields beyond the city walls where the rest of the army had gathered days ago. This parade was for the generals and the commanders, to show off the magnificence of Amestris' military might before the common folk.
It made Envy want to possess a human-like digestive system just so they could barf. In their opinion cattle shouldn't be allowed so much liberties.
Their attention returned back to the crowd. The girls among them sounded the most enthusiastic in their cheering. Envy vaguely wondered just how many of the pretty ones got fucked like harlots last night, to give one for good luck to the brave soldiers who were going to fight the vile rebels that threatened the South. This excursion was just the beginning of the plans the Homunculi had for this region of Amestris, and what better way to make humans fight for generations on end than to give them fathers they never knew who just happened to have perished valiantly against the Enemy? Or, in the case of those who survived the war and returned home, mutilated wretches who shuddered whenever they heard the clang of steel and who tended to turn their pain and nightmares on their offspring or spouses – and the disillusioned and bitter offspring, more often than not, found a warmer and more stable home in the waiting embrace of the army. The Homunculi won either way.
It worked like a charm. Every fucking time. What did Lust always used to say... ah yes, humans never learned. Never. They weren't likely to ever admit it, but it was this bumbling blindness that made Envy's hate boil over when it came to humans. They probably would have cared less if humankind was just not so... collectively dumb. Such lowly, shit-filled creatures did not deserve to have it so easy and so good. Not when it was everything but easy and good for Envy.
It was unfairness on a cosmic scale.
"Watcha doin', kids?" Greed's voice startled Envy and they turned to look as their big brother joined the other three Homunculi on top the bell tower. "Ah!" Greed's sounded teasing and flippant. What else was new? "I nearly missed the parade. Well, good job to everyone, eh?" He laughed heartily, the sound nearly drowned by the trumpets far below as the last of the commander's host departed South City to spearhead the main army and destroy the rebels. Envy averted their eyes away from him. They didn't want to look at Greed right now.
"Where were you?" Lust sounded disinterested as she always did. "You were supposed to meet us last night."
"Celebrating," Greed answered simply. That one word was enough and Envy silently clenched their teeth when they felt Lust's amethyst gaze flickering to study them for a second.
It was one thing to humiliate Envy. That was bad enough. To humiliate them in front of their siblings was something else altogether.
Whoever the human girl that Greed had so magnanimously graced with his pleasure last night was, she was going to die screaming.
Greed's indifference made it even worse. He knew how much his infidelity infuriated Envy and yet he kept on as he always had. Envy was beginning to realize that he didn't do it out of cruelty.
Somehow that made it hurt more. As if he didn't even care enough even to spite them.
God, they hated him so much.
He should have been with them last night, he should have held them in his arms to mark the beginning of the South campaign, he should have ravaged their lips with his talented mouth, he should have let them enjoy the strength of his muscular arms, he should have fucked them into oblivion.
Instead, Envy had been discarded. It had happened before. It was going to happen again.
Look at the needy freak, they could almost hear Greed's crowing in their head.
"Anyways," Lust intoned and Envy looked at their sister, "Gluttony and I will be going back to Central. Father wanted Pride and Sloth to begin working on the next stage of the plan as soon as the war here started, so I'm going to have to run things at home." She shrugged, her black gown hugging her seductive form. "You have things under control, right?" She cocked an arched eyebrow at Greed.
"Yeah, yeah," he said dismissively and moved to stand behind Envy, placing a big hand on their shoulder. "Freakshow and I have it handled, Lusty."
Lust just hummed, unimpressed, then gently swatted the back of Gluttony's head. "Come on, you," she chided Gluttony who was once again staring hungrily at the humans below. "Let's get you fed and head back home."
As Lust and Gluttony started climbing down, Greed grabbed Envy's waist and turned their body so they could face him.
"Why the long face, sweet cheeks?" He grinned down at them, his fangs white and shiny. "I thought you would be happier. Scores of disgusting humans about to die and everything."
He was mocking them.
For a second Envy was oh-so-tempted to just grab his stupid jacket by the fur lapels and throw the scumbag from the bell tower. See how much he would enjoy a two hundred feet dive right into the pavement below. Envy was sure it was going to hurt (good!), but it wasn't worth the hassle. At the very least, the locals would be frightened if a man who suddenly splattered on the ground just got up and his body healed itself in seconds. Pride would never let them hear the end of it; Lust's contempt was going to be quieter but no less poisonous. And they didn't even want to think what would Father do.
"Get your grubby hands off me," they growled at Greed instead, voice dripping with bile.
"No can do, sweetheart," Greed squeezed the exposed skin on their sides with his strong fingers. "At least tell me what's bugging you."
Envy snarled and shoved at his chest with enough power to force him off. Greed stumbled back and merely looked at them with a perplexed expression.
"Go and bother some humans, why don't you?" Envy glared at their big brother and crossed their arms in front of their chest.
"That's it?" Greed's eyes widened and a small smile flickered across his face. "My little Envy the Jealous..." He stepped into Envy's space and braced his hands on the stony railing behind their back, using his torso and limbs to create something akin to a cage around them, "... is actually jealous?"
His smug grin only angered Envy more and they were fully prepared to start a fight when Greed lifted one of his hands and rested it on their face, cupping their cheek.
The gesture was surprisingly gentle for him. Greed rarely bothered to be considerate.
"Envy," Greed lightly tilted his head sideways, his purple eyes boring into theirs. "You know you're my favorite, right?"
They despised the fact that his words made their breathing faster.
He always knew exactly what to say, which buttons to push.
Most men, Envy supposed, would have began spinning a sugary tirade about how Envy imagined things that weren't true, or how much they meant to them. Some might have asked for forgiveness. Others might have sworn that from this day on they would always be faithful. A few fools may even have the audacity to speak about love.
Greed had no taste for such empty niceties.
And neither did Envy.
But he knew them.
He knew them since they were created.
He knew that being desired meant everything to them.
And he successfully exploited that, every single time.
"Come on," Greed smiled at them. "Let's paint this town red."
Envy could not deny that their big brother had a unique approach to life. No other Homunculus enjoyed it so thoroughly, milking every minute of every hour for all it was worth. Now that Lust had returned to Central and left the two of them in charge, Greed's mood was better than ever and he had refused to let Envy wallow in their own bitterness.
They knew it wasn't out of kindness. Greed was utterly selfish and simply wanted to spend the day in the company of a lover who could entertain him, but he had made them have a good time all the same.
He had never been as gracious and affable with them as he was on that day. At the time Envy foolishly attributed it to the success of the war they had sparked in the south.
Many hours later Envy had somehow found themselves lying in his bed, breathing heavily, their naked body covered in a fine sheen of sweat.
It took a considerable effort to make a Homunculus sweat and pant like that but, again, Greed knew exactly which buttons to push.
They heard him move and lazily turned their head to look at him as he got off the bed.
If there was one thing that Lust and Greed had in common, it was the good looks. Much like she was made to be the perfect female, so was he the most magnificent male that Envy had ever seen. Granted, there wasn't much competition among the "boys" in the family anyways – Gluttony was ridiculous, Pride was made of shadows and Sloth was frighteningly huge, so Greed pretty much won by default with his chiseled torso, muscular arms, long legs and firm buttocks.
He was the most handsome of the Homunculi, and Envy would never even consider that a human could ever rival him. And for tonight, they were his. Tomorrow was always uncertain, and forever was out of the question for someone like Greed, but Envy could have tonight.
Greed grabbed a bottle of expensive bourbon and took a long swallow before he turned around, showing Envy that their favorite part of his anatomy was ready to go again.
He slid back on the bed, hovering above them, eating them up with his burning gaze. When he claimed their mouth in a passionate kiss Envy could taste the alcohol on his tongue.
Yes, Greed knew how to live life to the fullest.
There were moments like this one, not often but sometimes, when Envy was nothing but content. When they didn't drown in their own hatred for humans, when they didn't remind themselves that they were a monster who had nothing, when they didn't even spare a thought about their father and his sinister web of plans.
Those moments only came when Greed was around.
He was gone the next morning.
Central
Amestris, present day
Envy's head hurt.
The headaches came and went ever since they escaped from Gluttony's stomach. They hated pain, but it was tolerable compared to the odd mood swings that hit them without warning.
What was happening to them?
What did it matter if Greed was beating Gluttony up? Greed was older, smarter and stronger, and even with his century-long disloyalty to Father, he was still of a higher rank than the fat dumbass. If he wanted to torment Gluttony, he was well within his rights to do so and Envy shouldn't have thought that there was anything wrong with it.
And then they heard that small, treacherous voice in the back of their head.
Is that really how they honored Lust's memory? When Mustang murdered her, both Envy and Greed had been ready to go on the warpath in the name of revenge. And now they were trying to justify the way Greed had mistreated her favorite sibling just because he was jealous of Kimblee and was taking it out on Gluttony?
Who does that?
What was wrong with them?
Envy missed Lust.
Not because she had been a strong ally.
Not because they were angry that a mere human had defeated a Homunculus.
But because she was their sister and she was dead.
But Homunculi were not supposed to feel like that.
They were powerful, they were self-sufficient.
They didn't love.
They weren't humans.
Gluttony loved Lust.
He still loves her.
He will love her until one day Father's schemes will get him destroyed.
No.
Father will not get us destroyed.
He will not.
Yes, he will.
We are nothing to him.
Me, Greed, Lust, Gluttony, Wrath, Sloth... even Pride.
We are nothing to him.
We are Homunculi.
We are not nothing.
We are to him.
Maybe Greed was right to leave.
We are better than the humans.
We will get to live in the world Father is going to make for us.
He's not going to make it for us.
He's making it for himself.
And none of us will live to see it.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!
Envy huddled into themselves, head throbbing and chest aching. They missed Lust, they felt bad for Gluttony... they even caught themselves worrying about Sloth earlier, Sloth who had been digging the nationwide circle for nearly a century now, all alone in the darkness beneath the earth, forced to work ceaselessly like a beast of burden.
Envy had never cared about any of their siblings before. Not like this. This wasn't normal.
It was the Fullmetal Pipsqueak's fault somehow. With his brilliant idea to pass through the real Gate of Truth. Everything had gone wrong inside Envy's head since then. The short-tempered idiot had wanted to see his tin can of a brother so much that... that...
Envy let out a quiet growl of pain and frustration. They closed their eyes, trying to get these unnatural emotions in order.
It was then when they heard the echoing footsteps.
Someone was inside the maze of tunnels that interconnected Father's lair with Central High Command.
Envy went still and waited.
Was this some sort of a stunt by the Elrics? No... that didn't make sense. They had supposedly gone all the way to North City up in the Briggs Mountains. Couldn't be Mustang either, according to Wrath that particular dog of the military had been properly scolded, now that he knew that the whole country belonged to the Homunculi and that they had Hawkeye. He wouldn't dare. Scar was even less likely, with Kimblee on his trail far away from Central.
Who did that leave? The Xingese prince and his goons? But why?
Soon it became apparent that the intruder was alone.
Envy had crouched in a small alcove and had used their gift to force their skin to mimic the colors of their surroundings. They couldn't turn invisible of course, but if they stood very still this was the next best thing.
When the cloaked figure moved past Envy they leapt out of the alcove in a flash of alchemical red light, returning their form back to normal and using the full swing of their considerable weight to tackle the cretin who had dared to enter the place where the real monsters lived.
The intruder let out a terrified scream when Envy pressed one deceptively slender – yet surprisingly heavy – arm on his sunken chest and used the other to tear his dirty hood off.
They blinked in confusion.
Who was this guy?
He was somewhere between ugly and comical, with a bald head and a big nose, discolored splotches strewn all over his filthy skin. Envy felt something moving and when they looked down, they were surprised to see a lizard-like tail twitching nervously under the cloak that had hidden it a moment ago.
The guy was a chimera.
That made even less sense.
"Who the hell are you?" They hissed in his face.
The chimera gulped. "M-my name's B-bi-Bido. Bido," he repeated himself a little louder, correctly noticing that Envy's patience was far too short for moronic stuttering. "I came for Mister Greed. Is he okay?"
I think it should be obvious by the date I put there, and the fact that Lust is present, that the first part of this chapter is a flashback set roughly a century ago. A flashback, in fact, showing what transpired between Envy and Greed on the very day he left to be his own man instead of his dad's goon.
I've been wanting to include Bido in this story for a while now cause it would be interesting to see him in an AU where there is no GreedLing and Greed would be perfectly aware of who he is and what they are to each other. Bido is, of course, very much inconsequential as a character (other than through his death and all), but I found myself impressed by the guy all the same. Talk about loyalty. I mean, if I was a petty criminal/chimera, *I* wouldn't go on a journey across a country and into the den of the obviously evil military just to find my boss. Poor guy must have really believed that Greed was his friend, and a good one at that, to go through all this for his sake.